AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT AND

BIODIVERSITY

By:-Amit joshi
 REFERENCES
• Photos:-Sardine shoals and apteronotus{knife
fish}
• Thanks to wikipedia services,and global
information system of NOAA,USA.
• And great thanks To N.C.E.RT Books society
,CBSE New Delhi.
 Aquatic environmemnt
Aquatic Ecosystems: Marine
• Food web components
– Plankton – small aquatic organisms carried by the
currents
• Phytoplankton – photosynthetic algae and bacteria
found in the photic zone, upper 150 m where sunlight
penetrates
• Zooplankton – small heterotrophs of which many are
tiny crustaceans
– Nekton– large marine animals capable of swimming
against ocean currents.
– The most influential factor that influences marine
communities is the amount of dissolved,
inorganic nutrients available to phytoplankton
• Phosphorous, nitrogen, and carbon most
important
• Two types of places naturally supply abundant
amounts of these nutrients:
1. Where deep currents bring nutrients from the
bottom called upwellings
2. Where rivers deposit loads of sediment from the
continent
• Coral reef ecosystem – only found in warm, sub‐
tropical or tropical waters
– Reefs are produced by numerous tiny, filter‐
feeding animals that secrete CaCO3 shells around
them for protection
– Most have a symbiotic relationship with green
algae that can supply up to 90% of their food
– Many other animals attach themselves to the
reef including sponges, clams, snails, and
anemones
– One of the most productive and species‐rich
systems on Earth
• Mangrove swamp ecosystem – tropical forests in
shallow water near shore
– Trees can tolerate very high salt concentrations
because they excrete salt from their leaves
– Their roots prop up the tree and obtain oxygen
while trapping sediments
– Sediments build up and over time small islands
are formed
– Animals include oysters, crab, jellyfish, sponges,
and fish
• Estuaries – partially enclosed area where
freshwater flows into saltwater
– Very productive because they’re shallow so
sunlight penetrates to the bottom and nutrients
enter from rivers
– Important as nursery sites for fish and crustaceans
(shrimp)
– Like mangrove swamps, sediment is trapped and
land can eventually accumulate over time
Human Impacts
• We get more protein from the ocean than all
other sources
• Currently, 70% of our fisheries (shrimp, cod, tuna,
sardine, etc.) are being overfished
• The worldwide fleet is about 250% larger than it
needs to be to have sustainable harvest
• In many places, large, wealthy countries intrude
on poor countries’ fishing space and overfish a
resource that they’re trying to use for
subsistence living
Problems With Over‐fertilizing
• Excess N and P are added to ecosystems from water runoff
from agricultural fields and from domestic livestock
operations
• Because aquatic systems are usually starved for these
nutrients, these ecosystems tend to be more disrupted
from too much N and/or P
– One result of this is large blooms in algae and bacteria that
naturally occur
• Some algae are toxic and can kill fish and people if too
much toxin is consumed
• One type, called dinoflagellates, causes a condition known
as “red tide”
– However, the most widespread problem is eutrophication
• When algae growth is excessive, it absorbs large amounts of oxygen
and large amounts of dead plant matter accumulate
• Microbes (bacteria) which decompose plants absorb even
more oxygen and little is available for other groups of
organisms
• It is a common occurrence in small ponds and death of all or most fish
is the result
• Even oceans can be affected: a large area of the Gulf of
Mexico is affected every summer when runoff from the
Mississippi River empties large amounts of fertilizer from
thousands of square miles of agricultural land
• This affected area, the hypoxic zone (<25% of oxygen that
is normally available), covered 8,600 square miles in 2002
• Fish and bottom‐dwelling organisms are forced out of the
area or die
• We interfere with balance in food chains
– We overfish large sharks (a top predator) which feed on rays, rays get overabundant y g
and eat too many shellfish such as scallops so they become rare
– We overharvested sea otters (a keystone species) in the kelp forests off the California
coast
• Sea otters eat urchins which graze on the kelp, kelp forests were starting to disappear
• Coral reefs – tropical rain forests of the sea (25% of all marine
species)
– About 35 million acres lost worldwide
– Overfished for the pet trade and in many cases cyanide is used
to stun fish which kills much of the reef
– Pollution from sewage waste and fertilizer runoff causes algae
to smother reef life
• Mangroves
– In worldwide decline, we’ve lost 20% of total area just since
1980
– Thailand has lost 70% of theirs
– Cleared for agriculture (paddy land), aquaculture (shrimp
and prawn), or salt production
– Wood is useful for charcoal, incense, and oils
• Estuaries
– 90% of species have been depleted
– 65% of seagrass and salt marsh area have been eliminated
– Declines are mainly from direct destruction to improve ports
and harbors and indirectly from less freshwater reaching the
sea which causes vegetation die off
– For fishery declines, highly desirable fish species were
depleted first including sturgeon, cod, halibut, herring, and
sardines
– The Gulf wetlands are well known for their large populations
of wildlife, including shorebirds, colonial nesting birds, and
75% of the migratory waterfowl traversing the United States
– The extensive coastal wetlands that remain along the Gulf
make up about half of the nation's total wetland area
2.Aquatic Ecosystems: Freshwater
1• Lakes and ponds – relatively stationary water
– Some of the same characteristics as oceans:
• A photic zone
• Abundant phytoplankton and zooplankton form a large part of the food web
– Emergent plants are important – rooted to the bottom and have leaves or other
parts above the water (cattail=typha, rushes,water lilies, arrowhead plants)
– Also have submerged plants – rooted to the bottom but do not protrude above
the surface (eel grass=vallisneria)
– Where water is shallow enough for plants to be rooted is the
littoral zone and where water is too deep is the limnetic zone
– 3 things affect lake productivity:
1. Temperature – cold temperatures reduce photosynthesis
2. Depth – when sunlight can penetrate to the bottom of the
entire system, it is generally more productive
3. Available nutrients – determined by how much is brought in by
streams that feed the lake or surrounding runoff
– Deep, clear, cold, nutrient‐poor lakes have low production and are called oligotrophic
– Shallow, murky, warm, nutrient‐rich lakes are eutrophic
– Dissolved oxygen is an important component
• Oxygen enters from air as water is disturbed (water flowing over rocks, wave action)
or from photosynthetic activity
• When bacteria or fungi break down organic molecules they use oxygen during
respiration and the amount they require is called the biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD)
• Oxygen is lower in winter when most producers die
2• Streams and rivers – moving water
– Plankton not a big component of the food web; attached
plants, especially algae, are important
– The collection of attached algae, animals, and fungi are called
periphyton
– Light usually penetrates to the bottom except in unusually
deep or muddy rivers
– Because water is moving, it’s hard for plants to absorb
nutrients and rivers are generally not very productive
• Most nutrients come from leaves and other vegetation that
falls from above or insects
• The smaller the stream, the less the productivity
– There is a whole stream community that has adapted to use this
debris for energy
• Many insects shred and eat debris
• Bacteria and fungi further break down the shredded matter
during decomposition and release basic nutrients
– Larger rivers tend to be muddier and have less light penetration
• Must rely on debris that drifts their way from many small
streams
• They are slower and warmer so have less dissolved oxygen,
so species change
• Accumulated organic debris increases BOD, so oxygen is
further reduced
• Many plant species do grow on or near the shore and add to
productivity and provide structure for animals to hide/live
3.Swamps and marshes – similar to estuaries, they are transition
areas between terrestrial and aquatic habitat
– Swamps have trees that are able to live in flooded conditions at
least part of the year
– Marshes are wetlands dominated by grasses and reeds
– Sometimes both are early successional stages that will
eventually become completely terrestrial
• Because we are in such close proximity to freshwater ecosystems,
they have been heavily impacted ecologically around the globe
• Some major ecological j g problems in North America include:
– Introduction of exotic plants that outcompete native species
and clog waterways (hydrilla, water hyacinth, parrot feather,
alligatorweed)
– Introduction of exotic animals that outcompete native species
and may cause habitat destruction (nutria, walking catfish,
snakehead, numerous from pet trade)
• Swamps and marshes have been heavily used and disturbed by
humans in several ways:
– Dredging of navigation channels for ports
– Filling wetlands for development
– Wastewater disposal from nearby communities
– Diverting rivers for irrigation purposes
– Pesticide and fertilizer‐contaminated runoff
• Restoration of some of our major wetlands is happening now after
years of unregulated or poorly regulated pollution and economic
Development
 Biodiversity
If an alien from a distant galaxy were to visit our planet
Earth, the first thing that would amaze and baffle him
would most probably be the enormous diversity of life
that he would encounter. Even for humans, the rich variety
of living organisms with which they share this planet never
ceases to astonish and fascinate us. The common man
would find it hard to believe that there are more than
20,000 species of ants, 3,00,000 species of beetles, 28,000
species of fishes and nearly 20,000 species of orchids.
Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have been trying
to understand the significance of such diversity by asking
important questions– Why are there so many species?
Did such great diversity exist throughout earth’s history?
How did this diversification come about? How and why
is this diversity important to the biosphere? Would it
function any differently if the diversity was much less?
• How do humans benefit from the diversity of life?
 BIODIVERSITY
In our biosphere immense diversity (or heterogeneity)
exists not only at the species level but at all levels of
biological organisation ranging from macromolecules
within cells to biomes. Biodiversity is the term popularised
by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to describe the
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation.
The most important of them are–
(i) Genetic diversity : A single species might show high diversity at
the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic variation
shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in
different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the potency and
concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant
produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains
of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango.
(ii) Species diversity: The diversity at the species level. For example,
the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than
the Eastern Ghats.
(iii) Ecological diversity: At the ecosystem level, India, for instance,
with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands,
estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity
than a Scandinavian country like Norway.
 It has taken millions of years of evolution, to accumulate this rich
diversity in nature, but we could lose all that wealth in less than two
centuries if the present rates of species losses continue. Biodiversity and
its conservation are now vital environmental issues of international concern
as more and more people around the world begin to realise the critical
importance of biodiversity for our survival and well- being on this planet.
How Many Species are there on Earth and How Many
in India?
Since there are published records of all the species discovered and named,
we know how many species in all have been recorded so far, but it is not
easy to answer the question of how many species there are on earth.
According to the IUCN (2004), the total number of plant and animal species
described so far is slightly more than 1.5 million, but we have no clear
idea of how many species are yet to be discovered and described. Estimates
vary widely and many of them are only educated guesses. For many
taxonomic groups, species inventories are more complete in temperate
than in tropical countries. Considering that an overwhelmingly large
proportion of the species waiting to be discovered are in the tropics,
biologists make a statistical comparison of the temperate-tropical species
richness of an exhaustively studied group of insects and extrapolate this
ratio to other groups of animals and plants to come up with a gross
estimate of the total number of species on earth. Some extreme estimates
range from 20 to 50 million, but a more conservative and scientifically
sound estimate made by Robert May places the global species diversity
at about 7 million.
 Let us look at some interesting aspects about earth’s biodiversity based
on the currently available species inventories. More than 70 per cent of
all the species recorded are animals, while plants (including algae, fungi,
bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) comprise no more than 22
per cent of the total. Among animals, insects are the most species-rich
taxonomic group, making up more than 70 per cent of the total. That
means, out of every 10 animals on this planet, 7 are insects. Again, how
do we explain this enormous diversification of insects? The number of
fungi species in the world is more than the combined total of the species
of fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
It should be noted that these estimates do not give any figures for
prokaryotes. Biologists are not sure about how many prokaryotic species
there might be. The problem is that conventional taxonomic methods are
not suitable for identifying microbial species and many species are simply
not culturable under laboratory conditions. If we accept biochemical or
molecular criteria for delineating species for this group, then their diversity
alone might run into millions.
Although India has only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area, its share
of the global species diversity is an impressive 8.1 per cent. That is what
makes our country one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world.
Nearly 45,000 species of plants and twice as many of animals have been
recorded from India. How many living species are actually there waiting
to be discovered and named? If we accept May’s global estimates, only
22 per cent of the total species have been recorded so far. Applying this
proportion to India’s diversity figures, we estimate that there are probably
more than 1,00,000 plant species and more than 3,00, 000 animal species
yet to be discovered and described. Would we ever be able to complete
the inventory of the biological wealth of our country? Consider the immense
trained manpower (taxonomists) and the time required to complete the
job. The situation appears more hopeless when we realise that a large
fraction of these species faces the threat of becoming extinct even before
we discover them. Nature’s biological library is burning even before we
catalogued the titles of all the books stocked there.
 Patterns of Biodiversity
(i) Latitudinal gradients : The diversity of plants and animals is
not uniform throughout the world but shows a rather uneven
distribution. For many group of animals or plants, there are
interesting patterns in diversity, the most well- known being the
latitudinal gradient in diversity. In general, species diversity
decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles.
With very few exceptions, tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5° N to
23.5° S) harbour more species than temperate or polar areas.
Colombia located near the equator has nearly 1,400 species of birds
while New York at 41° N has 105 species and Greenland at 71° N
only 56 species. India, with much of its land area in the tropical
latitudes, has more than 1,200 species of birds. A forest in a tropical
region like Equador has up to 10 times as many species of vascular
plants as a forest of equal area in a temperate region like the Midwest
of the USA. The largely tropical Amazonian rain forest in South
America has the greatest biodiversity on earth- it is home to more
than 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 of fishes, 1,300 of birds, 427
of mammals, 427 of amphibians, 378 of reptiles and of more than
1,25,000 invertebrates. Scientists estimate that in these rain forests
there might be at least two million insect species waiting to be
discovered and named.
What is so special about tropics that might account for their greater
biological diversity? Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have
proposed various hypotheses; some important ones are (a) Speciation
is generally a function of time, unlike temperate regions subjected
to frequent glaciations in the past, tropical latitudes have remained
relatively undisturbed for millions of years and thus, had a long
evolutionary time for species diversification, (b) Tropical environments,
unlike temperate ones, are less seasonal, relatively more constant
and predictable. Such constant environments promote niche
specialisation and lead to a greater species diversity and (c) There
is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contributes to
higher productivity; this in turn might contribute indirectly to greater
diversity.
(ii) Species-Area relationships: During his pioneering and extensive
explorations in the wilderness of South American jungles, the great
German naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt
observed that within a region species
richness increased with increasing
explored area, but only up to a limit. In
fact, the relation between species richness
and area for a wide variety of taxa
(angiosperm plants, birds, bats,
freshwater fishes) turns out to be a
rectangular hyperbola (Figure). On
a logarithmic scale, the relationship is a
straight line described by the equation
log S = log C + Z log A
where
S= Species richness A= Area
Z = slope of the line (regression
coefficient)
C = Y-intercept
Ecologists have discovered that the
value of Z lies in the range of 0.1 to 0.2,
regardless of the taxonomic group or the
region (whether it is the plants in Britain,
birds in California or molluscs in New York state, the slopes of the regression
line are amazingly similar). But, if you analyse the species-area
relationships among very large areas like the entire continents, you will
find that the slope of the line to be much steeper (Z values in the range
of 0.6 to 1.2). For example, for frugivorous (fruit-eating) birds and
mammals in the tropical forests of different continents, the slope is found
to be 1.15.
The importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem
Does the number of species in a community really matter to the functioning of
the ecosystem? This is a question for which ecologists have not been able to
give a definitive answer. For many decades, ecologists believedthat
communities with more species, generally, tend to be more stable
than those with less species. What exactly is stability for a biological
community? A stable community should not show too much variation
in productivity from year to year; it must be either resistant or resilient to
occasional disturbances (natural or man-made), and it must also be
resistant to invasions by alien species. We don’t know how these attributes are
linked to species richness in a community, but David Tilman’s long-term
ecosystem experiments using outdoor plots provide some tentative answers.
Tilman found that plots with more species showedl ess year-to-year variation
in total biomass. He also showed that in his experiments, increased diversity
contributed to higher productivity.
Although, we may not understand completely how species richness
contributes to the well-being of an ecosystem, we know enough to realise
that rich biodiversity is not only essential for ecosystem health but
imperative for the very survival of the human race on this planet. At a
time when we are losing species at an alarming pace, one might ask–
Does it really matter to us if a few species become extinct? Would Western
Ghats ecosystems be less functional if one of its tree frog species is lost
forever? How is our quality of life affected if, say, instead of 20,000 we
have only 15,000 species of ants on earth?
There are no direct answers to such näive questions but we can develop
a proper perspective through an analogy (the ‘rivet popper hypothesis’)
used by Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich. In an airplane (ecosystem) all
parts are joined together using thousands of rivets (species). If every
passenger travelling in it starts popping a rivet to take home (causing a
species to become extinct), it may not affect flight safety (proper functioning
of the ecosystem) initially, but as more and more rivets are removed, the
plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. Furthermore,
which rivet is removed may also be critical. Loss of rivets on the wings
(key species that drive major ecosystem functions) is obviously a more
serious threat to flight safety than loss of a few rivets on the seats or
windows inside the plane.
 Causes of biodiversity losses: The accelerated rates of species
extinctions that the world is facing now are largely due to human
activities. There are four major causes (‘ The Evil Quartet ’ is the sobriquet
used to describe them).

(i) Habitat loss and fragmentation: This is the most important
cause driving animals and plants to extinction. The most dramatic
examples of habitat loss come from tropical rain forests. Once
covering more than 14 per cent of the earth’s land surface, these
rain forests now cover no more than 6 per cent. They are being
destroyed fast. By the time you finish reading this chapter, 1000
more hectares of rain forest would have been lost. The Amazon
rain forest (it is so huge that it is called the ‘lungs of the planet’)
harbouring probably millions of species is being cut and cleared
for cultivating soya beans or for conversion to grasslands for raising
beef cattle. Besides total loss, the degradation of many habitats by
pollution also threatens the survival of many species. When large
habitats are broken up into small fragments due to various human
activities, mammals and birds requiring large territories and certain
animals with migratory habits are badly affected, leading to
population declines.
(ii) Over-exploitation: Humans have always depended on nature
for
food and shelter, but when ‘need’ turns to ‘greed’, it leads to
over-exploitation of natural resources. Many species extinctions
in the last 500 years (Steller’s sea cow, passenger pigeon) were due
to overexploitation by humans. Presently many marine fish
populations around the world are over harvested, endangering the
continued existence of some commercially important species.
(iii) Alien species invasions: When alien species are introduced
unintentionally or deliberately for whatever purpose, some of them
turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species.
The Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria in east Africa led
eventually to the extinction of an ecologically unique assemblage of
more than 200 species of cichlid fish in the lake. You must be
familiar with the environmental damage caused and threat posed
to our native species by invasive weed species like carrot grass
(Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eicchornia). The recent
illegal introduction of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus for
aquaculture purposes is posing a threat to the indigenous catfishes
in our rivers.
(iv) Co-extinctions: When a species becomes extinct, the plant and
animal species associated with it in an obligatory way also become
extinct. When a host fish species becomes extinct, its unique
assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate. Another example
is the case of a coevolved plant-pollinator mutualism where
extinction of one invariably leads to the extinction of the other.
 Why Should We Conserve Biodiversity?
There are many reasons, some obvious and others not so obvious, but all
equally important. They can be grouped into three categories: narrowly
utilitarian, broadly utilitarian, and ethical.
The narrowly utilitarian arguments for conserving biodiversity are
obvious; humans derive countless direct economic benefits from naturefood
(cereals, pulses, fruits), firewood, fibre, construction material,
industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes ) and
products of medicinal importance. More than 25 per cent of the drugs
currently sold in the market worldwide are derived from plants and 25,000
species of plants contribute to the traditional medicines used by native
peoples around the world. Nobody knows how many more medicinally
useful plants there are in tropical rain forests waiting to be explored.
With increasing resources put into ‘bioprospecting’ (exploring molecular,
genetic and species-level diversity for products of economic importance),
nations endowed with rich biodiversity can expect to reap enormous
benefits.
The broadly utilitarian argument says that biodiversity plays a
major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides. The fast
dwindling Amazon forest is estimated to produce, through
photosynthesis, 20 per cent of the total oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.
Can we put an economic value on this service by nature? You can get
some idea by finding out how much your neighborhood hospital spends
on a cylinder of oxygen. Pollination (without which plants cannot give
us fruits or seeds) is another service, ecosystems provide through
pollinators layer – bees, bumblebees, birds and bats. What will be the
costs of accomplishing pollination without help from natural
pollinators? There are other intangible benefits – that we derive from
nature–the aesthetic pleasures of walking through thick woods, watching
spring flowers in full bloom or waking up to a bulbul’s song in the
morning. Can we put a price tag on such things?
The ethical argument for conserving biodiversity relates to what we
owe to millions of plant, animal and microbe species with whom we share
this planet. Philosophically or spiritually, we need to realise that every
species has an intrinsic value, even if it may not be of current or any
economic value to us. We have a moral duty to care for their well-being
and pass on our biological legacy in good order to future generations.
 How do we conserve Biodiversity?
When we conserve and protect the whole ecosystem, its biodiversity at all
levels is protected - we save the entire forest to save the tiger. This approach
is called in situ (on site) conservation. However, when there are situations
where an animal or plant is endangered or threatened and needs urgent
measures to save it from extinction, ex situ (off site) conservation is the
desirable approach.
In situ conservation– Faced with the conflict between development and
conservation, many nations find it unrealistic and economically not feasible
to conserve all their biological wealth. Invariably, the number of species
waiting to be saved from extinction far exceeds the conservation resources
available. On a global basis, this problem has been addressed by eminent
conservationists. They identified for maximum protection certain
‘biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness
and high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region
and not found anywhere else). Initially 25 biodiversity hotspots were
identified but subsequently nine more have been added to the list,
bringing the total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world to 34.
These hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss. Three of
these hotspots – Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and
Himalaya – cover our country’s exceptionally high biodiversity regions.
Although all the biodiversity hotspots put together cover less than 2
percent of the earth’s land area, the number of species they collectively
harbour is extremely high and strict protection of these hotspots could
reduce the ongoing mass extinctions by almost 30 per cent.
In India, ecologically unique and biodiversity-rich regions are legally
protected as biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries. India
now has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks and 448 wildlife
sanctuaries. India has also a history of religious and cultural traditions
that emphasised protection of nature. In many cultures, tracts of forest
were set aside, and all the trees and wildlife within were venerated and
given total protection. Such sacred groves are found in Khasi and Jaintia
Hills in Meghalaya, Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan, Western Ghat regions of
Karnataka and Maharashtra and the Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas
of Madhya Pradesh. In Meghalaya, the sacred groves are the last refuges
for a large number of rare and threatened plants.
Ex situ Conservation– In this approach, threatened animals and plants
are taken out from their natural habitat and placed in special setting
where they can be protected and given special care. Zoological parks,
botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks serve this purpose. There are
many animals that have become extinct in the wild but continue to be
maintained in zoological parks. In recent years ex situ conservation has
advanced beyond keeping threatened species in enclosures. Now gametes
of threatened species can be preserved in viable and fertile condition for
long periods using cryopreservation techniques, eggs can be fertilised in
vitro, and plants can be propagated using tissue culture methods. Seeds
of different genetic strains of commercially important plants can be kept
for long periods in seed banks.
Biodiversity knows no political boundaries and its conservation is
therefore a collective responsibility of all nations. The historic Convention
on Biological Diversity (‘The Earth Summit’) held in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, called upon all nations to take appropriate measures for
conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilisation of its benefits. In
a follow-up, the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002
in Johannesburg, South Africa, 190 countries pledged their commitment
to achieve by 2010, a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity
loss at global, regional and local levels.
 Ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
are some examples of terrestrial ecosystems; pond, lake,
wetland, river and estuary are some examples of aquatic
ecosystems. Crop fields and an aquarium may also be
considered as man-made ecosystems.
We will first look at the structure of the ecosystem, in
order to appreciate the input (productivity), transfer of
energy (food chain/web, nutrient cycling) and the output
(degradation and energy loss). We will also look at the
relationships – cycles, chains, webs – that are created as
a result of these energy flows within the system and their inter relationship.
 Major Abiotic Factors
Temperature: Temperature is the most ecologically relevant
environmental factor. You are aware that the average
temperature on
land varies seasonally, decreases progressively from the equator
towards the poles and from plains to the mountain tops. It
ranges from subzero levels in polar areas and high altitudes
to >500C in tropical deserts in summer. There are, however,
unique habitats such as thermal springs
and deep-sea hydrothermal vents where average temperatures
exceed
1000 C. It is general knowledge that mango trees do not and
cannot grow in temperate countries like Canada and
Germany, snow leopards are not found in Kerala forests and
tuna fish are rarely caught beyond tropical latitudes in the
ocean. You can readily appreciate the significance of
temperature to living organisms when you realise that it
affects the kinetics of enzymes and through it the basal
metabolism, activity and other physiological functions of
the organism. A few organisms can tolerate and thrive in a
wide range of temperatures (they are called eurythermal),
but, a vast majority of them are restricted to a narrow range
of temperatures (such organisms are called stenothermal).
The levels of thermal tolerance of different species
determine to a large extent their geographical distribution.
Water: Next to temperature, water is the most important
factor influencing
the life of organisms. In fact, life on earth originated in
water and is unsustainable without water. Its
availability is so limited in deserts that only special
adaptations make it possible to live there. The
productivity and distribution of plants is also heavily
dependent on water. You might think that organisms
living in oceans, lakes and rivers should not face any
water-related problems, but it is not true. For aquatic
organisms the quality (chemical composition, pH) of
water becomes important. The salt concentration
(measured as salinity in parts per thousand), is less
than 5 per cent in inland waters, 30-35 per cent the
sea and > 100 per cent in some hypersaline lagoons.
Some organisms are tolerant of a wide range of
salinities (euryhaline) but others are restricted to a
narrow range (stenohaline). Many freshwater animals
cannot live for long in sea water
and vice versa because of the osmotic problems, they
would face.
Light: Since plants produce food through Soil: The nature and properties of soil in
photosynthesis, a process which
is only possible when sunlight is available as a source of energy, we can
different places vary; it is
quickly understand the importance of light for living organisms, dependent on the climate, the weathering
particularly autotrophs. Many species of small plants (herbs and shrubs)
growing in forests are adapted to photosynthesise optimally under very process, whether soil is
low light conditions because they are constantly overshadowed by tall,
transported or sedimentary and how soil
canopied trees. Many plants are also dependent on sunlight to meet
their photoperiodic requirement for flowering. For many animals development occurred. Various
too, light is important in that they use the diurnal and seasonal
variations in light intensity and duration (photoperiod) as cues for characteristics of the soil such as soil
timing their foraging, reproductive and migratory activities. The
availability of light on land is closely linked with that of composition, grain size and
temperature since the sun is the source for both. But, deep
(>500m) in the oceans, the environment is perpetually
aggregation determine the percolation
dark and its inhabitants are not aware of the existence of a celestial and water holding capacity of the
source of energy called Sun. What, then is their source of energy?).
The spectral soils. These characteristics along with
quality of solar radiation is also important for life. The UV component of
the spectrum is harmful to many organisms while not all the colour
parameters such as pH, mineral
components of the visible spectrum are available for marine plants living composition and topography determine to
at different depths of the ocean.
a large extent the vegetation in
any area. This is in turn dictates the type
of animals that can be supported.
Similarly, in the aquatic environment, the
sediment-characteristics often
determine the type of benthic animals
that can thrive there.
 Population Growth
The size of a population for any species is not a static parameter. It keeps
changing in time, depending on various factors including food availability,
predation pressure and reduce weather. In fact, it is these changes in
population density that give us some idea of what is happening to the
population – whether it is flourishing or declining. Whatever might be
the ultimate reasons, the density of a population in a given habitat during
a given period, fluctuates due to changes in four basic processes, two of
which (natality and immigration) contribute an increase in population
density and two (mortality and emigration) to a decrease.
(i) Natality refers to the number of births during a given period in the
population that are added to the initial density.
(ii) Mortality is the number of deaths in the population during a given
period.
(iii) Immigration is the number of individuals of the same species that
have come into the habitat from elsewhere during the time period
under consideration.
(iv) Emigration is the number of individuals of the population who
left the habitat and gone elsewhere during the time period under
consideration.
• Ecosystem structure
Interaction of biotic and abiotic components result in a physical
structure that is characteristic for each type of ecosystem. Identification
and enumeration of plant and animal species of an ecosystem gives its
species composition. Vertical distribution of different species occupying
different levels is called stratification. For example, trees occupy top
vertical strata or layer of a forest, shrubs the second and herbs and grasses
occupy the bottom layers.
The components of the ecosystem are seen to function as a unit when
you consider the following aspects:
(i) Productivity;
(ii) Decomposition;
(iii) Energy flow; and
(iv) Nutrient cycling.
To understand the ethos of an aquatic ecosystem let us take a small
pond as an example. This is fairly a self-sustainable unit and rather simple
example that explain even the complex interactions that exist in an aquatic
ecosystem. A pond is a shallow water body in which all the above
mentioned four basic components of an ecosystem are well exhibited.
The abiotic component is the water with all the dissolved inorganic and
organic substances and the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the pond.
The solar input, the cycle of temperature, day-length and other climatic
conditions regulate the rate of function of the entire pond. The autotrophic
components include the phytoplankton, some algae and the floating,
submerged and marginal plants found at the edges. The consumers are
represented by the zooplankton, the free swimming and bottom dwelling
forms. The decomposers are the fungi, bacteria and flagellates especially
abundant in the bottom of the pond. This system performs all the functions
of any ecosystem and of the biosphere as a whole, i.e., conversion of
inorganic into organic material with the help of the radiant energy of the
sun by the autotrophs; consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs;
decomposition and mineralisation of the dead matter to release them back
for reuse by the autotrophs, these event are repeated over and over again.
There is unidirectional movement of energy towards the higher trophic
levels and its dissipation and loss as heat to the environment.
 PRODUCTIVITY
A constant input of solar energy is the basic requirement for any ecosystem
to function and sustain. Primary production is defined as the amount of
biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a time period by
plants during photosynthesis. It is expressed in terms of weight (g –2) or
energy (kcal m–2). The rate of biomass production is called productivity.
It is expressed in terms of g–2 yr –1 or (kcal m–2) yr–1 to compare the
productivity of different ecosystems. It can be divided into gross primary
productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP). Gross primary
productivity of an ecosystem is the rate of production of organic matter
during photosynthesis. A considerable amount of GPP is utilised by plants
in respiration. Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (R),
is the net primary productivity (NPP).
GPP – R = NPP
Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the consumption
to heterotrophs (herbiviores and decomposers). Secondary productivity
is defined as the rate of formation of new organic matter by
consumers.
Primary productivity depends on the plant species inhabiting a
particular area. It also depends on a variety of environmental factors,
availability of nutrients and photosynthetic capacity of plants. Therefore,
it varies in different types of ecosystems. The annual net primary
productivity of the whole biosphere is approximately 170 billion tons
(dry weight) of organic matter. Of this, despite occupying about 70 per
cent of the surface, the productivity of the oceans are only 55 billion tons.
Rest of course, is on land.
 DECOMPOSITION
You may have heard of the earthworm being referred to as the farmer’s
‘friend’. This is so because they help in the breakdown of complex organic
matter as well as in loosening of the soil. Similarly, decomposers break
down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon
dioxide, water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition.
Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of
animals, including fecal matter, constitute detritus, which is the raw
material for decomposition. The important steps in the process of
decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and
mineralisation.
Detritivores (e.g., earthworm) break down detritus into smaller particles.
This process is called fragmentation. By the process of leaching,
watersoluble
inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get precipitated
as unavailable salts. Bacterial and fungal enzymes degrade detritus into
simpler inorganic substances. This process is called as catabolism.
 Humification and
mineralisation occur during decomposition in the soil. Humification leads
to accumulation of a dark coloured amorphous substance called humus
that is highly resistant to microbial action and undergoes decomposition
at an extremely slow rate. Being colloidal in nature it serves as a reservoir
of nutrients. The humus is further degraded by some microbes and release
of inorganic nutrients occur by the process known as mineralisation.
Decomposition is largely an oxygen-requiring process. The rate of
decomposition is controlled by chemical composition of detritus and
climatic factors. In a particular climatic condition, decomposition rate
is slower if detritus is rich in lignin and chitin, and quicker, if detritus is
rich in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars. Temperature
and soil moisture are the most important climatic factors that regulate
decomposition through their effects on the activities of soil microbes.
Warm and moist environment favour decomposition whereas low
temperature and anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition resulting in build
up of organic materials.
 ENERGY FLOW
Except for the deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem, sun is the only source
of energy for all ecosystems on Earth. Of the incident solar radiation less
than 50 per cent of it is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). We
know that plants and photosynthetic and chemosynthetic bacteria
(autotrophs), fix suns’ radiant energy to make food from simple inorganic
materials. Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR and this small
amount of energy sustains the entire living world. So, it is very important
to know how the solar energy captured by plants flows through different
organisms of an ecosystem. All organisms are dependent for their food
on producers, either directly or indirectly. So you find unidirectional flow
of energy from the sun to producers and then to consumers. ecosystems are not exempt from the Second Law of
thermodynamics. They need a constant supply of energy to synthesise
the molecules they require, to counteract the universal tendency toward
increasing disorderliness.
The green plant in the ecosystem-terminology are called producers.
In a terrestrial ecosystem, major producers are herbaceous and woody
plants. Likewise, primary producers in an aquatic ecosystem are various
species like phytoplankton, algae and higher plants.
You have read about the food chains and webs that exit in nature.
Starting from the plants (or producers) food chains or rather webs are
formed such that an animal feeds on a plant or on another animal and in
turn is food for another. The chain or web is formed because of this
interdependency. No energy that is trapped into an organism remains in
it for ever. The energy trapped by the producer, hence, is either passed on
to a consumer or the organism dies. Death of organism is the beginning
of the detritus food chain/web.
All animals depend on plants (directly or indirectly) for their food needs.
They are hence called consumers and also heterotrophs. If they feed on
the producers, the plants, they are called primary consumers, and if the
animals eat other animals which in turn eat the plants (or their produce)
they are called secondary consumers. Likewise, you could have tertiary
consumers too. Obviously the primary consumers will be herbivores.
Some common herbivores are insects, birds and mammals in terrestrial
ecosystem and molluscs in aquatic ecosystem.
The consumers that feed on these herbivores are carnivores, or more
correctly primary carnivores (though secondary consumers). Those
animals that depend on the primary carnivores for food are labelled
secondary carnivores.
A simple grazing food chain (GFC) is depicted
below:
Grass Goat Man
(Producer) (Primary Consumer) (Secondary consumer)
The detritus food chain (DFC) begins with dead organic matter. It is
made up of decomposers which are heterotrophic organisms, mainly
fungi and bacteria. They meet their energy and nutrient requirements by
degrading dead organic matter or detritus. These are also known as
saprotrophs (sapro: to decompose). Decomposers secrete digestive
enzymes that breakdown dead and waste materials into simple, inorganic
materials, which are subsequently absorbed by them.
In an aquatic ecosystem, GFC is the major conduit for energy flow.
As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy
flows through the detritus food chain than through the GFC. Detritus
food chain may be connected with the grazing food chain at some levels:
some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the GFC animals, and in a natural
ecosystem, some animals like cockroaches, crows, etc., are omnivores.
These natural interconnection of food chains make it a food web.
Organisms occupy a place in the natural surroundings or in a
community according to their feeding relationship with other organisms.
Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific
place in the food chain that is known as their trophic level. Producers
belong to the first trophic level, herbivores (primary consumer) to the
second and carnivores (secondary consumer) to the third
the amount of energy decreases at
successive trophic levels. When any organism dies it is converted to
detritus or dead biomass that serves as an energy source for decomposers.
Organisms at each trophic level depend on those at the lower trophic level
for their energy demands.
Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular
time called as the standing crop. The standing crop is measured as the
mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area. The
biomass of a species is expressed in terms of fresh or dry weight.
Measurement of biomass in terms of dry weight is more accurate. The number of trophic levels
in the grazing food chain is restricted as
the transfer of energy follows 10 per cent law – only 10 per cent of the
energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic level. In
nature, it is possible to have so many levels – producer, herbivore, primary
carnivore, secondary carnivore in the grazing food chain
 ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
An important characteristic of all communities is that composition
and structure constantly change in response to the changing
environmental conditions. This change is orderly and sequential, parallel
with the changes in the physical environment. These changes lead finally
to a community that is in near equilibrium with the environment and
that is called a climax community. The gradual and fairly predictable
change in the species composition of a given area is called ecological
succession. During succession some species colonise an area and their
populations become more numerous, whereas populations of other species
decline and even disappear.
The entire sequence of communities that successively change in a
given area are called sere(s). The individual transitional communities are
termed seral stages or seral communities. In the successive seral stages
there is a change in the diversity of species of organisms, increase in the
number of species and organisms as well as an increase in the total biomass.
The present day communities in the world have come to be because
of succession that has occurred over millions of years since life started on
earth. Actually succession and evolution would have been parallel
processes at that time.
Succession is hence a process that starts where no living organisms
are there – these could be areas where no living organisms ever existed,
say bare rock; or in areas that somehow, lost all the living organisms that
existed there. The former is called primary succession, while the latter is
termed secondary succession.
Examples of areas where primary succession occurs are newly cooled
lava, bare rock, newly created pond or reservoir. The establishment of a
new biotic community is generally slow. Before a biotic community of
diverse organisms can become established, there must be soil. Depending
mostly on the climate, it takes natural processes several hundred to several
thousand years to produce fertile soil on bare rock.
Secondary succession begins in areas where natural biotic
communities have been destroyed such as in abandoned farm lands,
burned or cut forests, lands that have been flooded. Since some soil or
sediment is present, succession is faster than primary succession.
Description of ecological succession usually focuses on changes in
vegetation. However, these vegetational changes in turn affect food and
shelter for various types of animals. Thus, as succession proceeds, the
numbers and types of animals and decomposers also change.
At any time during primary or secondary succession, natural or
human induced disturbances (fire, deforestation, etc.), can convert a
particular seral stage of succession to an earlier stage. Also such
disturbances create new conditions that encourage some species and
discourage or eliminate other species.
 Succession of Plants
Based on the nature of the habitat – whether it is water (or very wet areas)
or it is on very dry areas – succession of plants is called hydrach or xerarch,
respectively. Hydrarch succession takes place in wetter areas and the
successional series progress from hydric to the mesic conditions. As against
this, xerarch succession takes place in dry areas and the series progress
from xeric to mesic conditions. Hence, both hydrarch and xerach
successions lead to medium water conditions (mesic) – neither too dry
(xeric) nor too wet (hydric).
The species that invade a bare area are called pioneer species. In
primary succession on rocks these are usually lichens which are able to
secrete acids to dissolve rock, helping in weathering and soil formation.
These later pave way to some very small plants like bryophytes, which
are able to take hold in the small amount of soil. They are, with time,
succeeded by bigger plants, and after several more stages, ultimately a
stable climax forest community is formed. The climax community remains
stable as long as the environment remains unchanged. With time the
xerophytic habitat gets converted into a mesophytic one.
In primary succession in water, the pioneers are the small
phytoplanktons, they are replaced with time by free-floating angiosperms,
then by rooted hydrophytes, sedges, grasses and finally the trees. The
climax again would be a forest. With time the water body is converted
into land
In secondary succession the species that invade depend on the
condition of the soil, availability of water, the environment as also the
seeds or other propagules present. Since soil is already there, the rate of
succession is much faster and hence, climax is also reached more quickly.
Particularly primary succession, is a very slow process, taking maybe thousands
of years for the climax to be reached. Another important fact is to understand
that all succession whether taking place in water or on land, proceeds to
a similar climax community – the mesic.
Population Interactions
Can you think of any natural habitat on earth that is inhabited just by a
single species? There is no such habitat and such a situation is even
inconceivable. For any species, the minimal requirement is one more
species on which it can feed. Even a plant species, which makes its own
food, cannot survive alone; it needs soil microbes to break down the organic
matter in soil and return the inorganic nutrients for absorption. And then,
how will the plant manage pollination without an animal agent? It is
obvious that in nature, animals, plants and microbes do not and cannot
live in isolation but interact in various ways to form a biological
community. Even in minimal communities, many interactive linkages
exist, although all may not be readily apparent.
Interspecific interactions arise from the interaction of populations of
two different species. They could be beneficial, detrimental or neutral
(neither harm nor benefit) to one of the species or both. Assigning a ‘+’
sign for beneficial interaction, ‘-’ sign for detrimental and 0 for neutral
interaction, let us look at all the possible outcomes of interspecific
interactions (Table
Species A Species B
+ +
_ _
+ _
+ _
+ 0
_ 0
Table:-population interactions
Name of Interaction
mutualism(both species
benefit)
competition(both species
suffer)
predation(one benefits and
the other suffers)
parasitism(one benefits and
the other suffers)
commensalism(one
benefits and the other is
unaffected)
Amensalism(one is harmed,
other unaffected)
Both the species benefit in mutualism and both lose in competition in
their interactions with each other. In both parasitism and Predation only
one species benefits (parasite and predator, respectively) and the interaction
is detrimental to the other species (host and prey, respectively).
The interaction where one species is benefitted and the other is neither
benefitted nor harmed is called commensalism. In amensalism on
the other hand one species is harmed whereas the other is
unaffected. Predation, parasitism and commensalisms share a common
Characteristic– the interacting species live closely together.
(i) Predation: What would happen to all the energy fixed by
autotrophic organisms if the community has no animals to eat the
plants? You can think of predation as nature’s way of transferring
to higher trophic levels the energy fixed by plants. When we think
of predator and prey, most probably it is the tiger and the deer that
readily come to our mind, but a sparrow eating any seed is no less
a predator. Although animals eating plants are categorised
separately as herbivores, they are, in a broad ecological context,
not very different from predators.
Besides acting as ‘conduits’ for energy transfer across trophic
levels, predators play other important roles. They keep prey
populations under control. But for predators, prey species could
achieve very high population densities and cause ecosystem
instability. When certain exotic species are introduced into a
geographical area, they become invasive and start spreading fast
because the invaded land does not have its natural predators. The
prickly pear cactus introduced into Australia in the early 1920’s
caused havoc by spreading rapidly into millions of hectares of
rangeland. Finally, the invasive cactus was brought under control
only after a cactus-feeding predator (a moth) from its natural habitat
was introduced into the country. Biological control methods adopted
in agricultural pest control are based on the ability of the predator
to regulate prey population. Predators also help in maintaining
species diversity in a community, by reducing the intensity of
competition among competing prey species. In the rocky intertidal
communities of the American Pacific Coast the starfish Pisaster is
an important predator. In a field experiment, when all the starfish
were removed from an enclosed intertidal area, more than 10 species
of invertebrates became extinct within a year, because of interspecific
competition. If a predator is too efficient and overexploits its prey, then the
prey might become extinct and following it, the predator will also
become extinct for lack of food. This is the reason why predators in
nature are ‘prudent’. Prey species have evolved various defenses to
lessen the impact of predation. Some species of insects and frogs
are cryptically-coloured (camouflaged) to avoid being detected easily
by the predator. Some are poisonous and therefore avoided by the
predators. The Monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its predator
(bird) because of a special chemical present in its body.
Interestingly, the butterfly acquires this chemical during its
caterpillar stage by feeding on a poisonous weed.
For plants, herbivores are the predators. Nearly 25 per cent of
all insects are known to be phytophagous (feeding on plant sap
and other parts of plants). The problem is particularly severe for
plants because, unlike animals, they cannot run away from their
predators. Plants therefore have evolved an astonishing variety of
morphological and chemical defences against herbivores. Thorns
(Acacia, Cactus) are the most common morphological means of
defence. Many plants produce and store chemicals that make the
herbivore sick when they are eaten, inhibit feeding or digestion,
disrupt its reproduction or even kill it. You must have seen the
weed Calotropis growing in abandoned fields. The plant produces
highly poisonous cardiac glycosides and that is why you never see
any cattle or goats browsing on this plant. A wide variety of chemical
substances that we extract from plants on a commercial scale
(nicotine, caffeine, quinine, strychnine, opium, etc.,) are produced
by them actually as defences against grazers and browsers.
(ii) Competition: When Darwin spoke of the struggle for existence and
survival of the fittest in nature, he was convinced that interspecific
competition is a potent force in organic evolution. It is generally
believed that competition occurs when closely related species
compete for the same resources that are limiting, but this is not
entirely true. Firstly, totally unrelated species could also compete
for the same resource. For instance, in some shallow South
American lakes visiting flamingoes and resident fishes compete for
their common food, the zooplankton in the lake. Secondly,
resources need not be limiting for competition to occur; in
interference competition, the feeding efficiency of one species might
be reduced due to the interfering and inhibitory presence of the
other species, even if resources (food and space) are abundant.
Therefore, competition is best defined as a process in which the
fitness of one species (measured in terms of its ‘r’ the intrinsic rate
of increase) is significantly lower in the presence of another species.
It is relatively easy to demonstrate in laboratory experiments, as
Gause and other experimental ecologists did, when resources are
limited the competitively superior species will eventually eliminate
the other species, but evidence for such competitive exclusion
occurring in nature is not always conclusive. Strong and persuasive
circumstantial evidence does exist however in some cases. The
Abingdon tortoise in Galapagos Islands became extinct within a
decade after goats were introduced on the island, apparently due
to the greater browsing efficiency of the goats. Another evidence for
the occurrence of competition in nature comes from what is called
‘competitive release’. A species whose distribution is restricted to a
small geographical area because of the presence of a competitively
superior species, is found to expand its distributional range
dramatically when the competing species is experimentally removed.
Connell’s elegant field experiments showed that on the rocky sea
indefinitely and the competitively inferior one will be eliminated
eventually. This may be true if resources are limiting, but not
otherwise. More recent studies do not support such gross
generalisations about competition. While they do not rule out the
occurrence of interspecific competition in nature, they point out
that species facing competition might evolve mechanisms that
promote co-existence rather than exclusion. One such mechanism
is ‘resource partitioning’. If two species compete for the same
resource, they could avoid competition by choosing, for instance,
different times for feeding or different foraging patterns. MacArthur
showed that five closely related species of warblers living on the
same tree were able to avoid competition and co-exist due to
Behavioural differences in their foraging activities.
(iii) Parasitism: Considering that the parasitic mode of life ensures
free lodging and meals, it is not surprising that parasitism has
evolved in so many taxonomic groups from plants to higher
vertebrates. Many parasites have evolved to be host-specific (they
can parasitise only a single species of host) in such a way that both
host and the parasite tend to co-evolve; that is, if the host evolves
special mechanisms for rejecting or resisting the parasite, the
parasite has to evolve mechanisms to counteract and neutralise
them, in order to be successful with the same host species. In
accordance with their life styles, parasites evolved special
adaptations such as the loss of unnecessary sense organs, presence
of adhesive organs or suckers to cling on to the host, loss of digestive
system and high reproductive capacity. The life cycles of parasites
are often complex, involving one or two intermediate hosts or vectors
to facilitate parasitisation of its primary host. The human liver fluke
(a trematode parasite) depends on two intermediate hosts (a snail
and a fish) to complete its life cycle. The malarial parasite needs a
vector (mosquito) to spread to other hosts. Majority of the parasites
Parasites that feed on the external surface of the host organism
are called ectoparasites. The most familiar examples of this group
are the lice on humans and ticks on dogs. Many marine fish are
infested with ectoparasitic copepods. Cuscuta, a parasitic plant that
is commonly found growing on hedge plants, has lost its chlorophyll
and leaves in the course of evolution. It derives its nutrition from
the host plant which it parasitises. The female mosquito is not
considered a parasite, although it needs our blood for reproduction.
Can you explain why?
In contrast, endoparasites are those that live inside the host
body at different sites (liver, kidney, lungs, red blood cells, etc.).
The life cycles of endoparasites are more complex because of their
extreme specialisation. Their morphological and anatomical features
are greatly simplified while emphasising their reproductive potential.
Brood parasitism in birds is a fascinating example of parasitism
in which the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and
lets the host incubate them. During the course of evolution, the
eggs of the parasitic bird have evolved to resemble the host’s egg in
size and colour to reduce the chances of the host bird detecting the
foreign eggs and ejecting them from the nest. Try to follow the
movements of the cuckoo (koel) and the crow in your neighborhood
park during the breeding season (spring to summer) and watch
brood parasitism in action.
(iv) Commensalism: This is the interaction in which one species benefits
and the other is neither harmed nor benefited. An orchid growing
as an epiphyte on a mango branch, and barnacles growing on the
back of a whale benefit while neither the mango tree nor the whale
derives any apparent benefit. The cattle egret and grazing cattle in
close association, a sight you are most likely to catch if you live in
farmed rural areas, is a classic example of commensalism. The
egrets always forage close to where the cattle are grazing because
the cattle, as they move, stir up and flush out from the vegetation
insects that otherwise might be difficult for the egrets to find and
catch. Another example of commensalism is the interaction between
sea anemone that has stinging tentacles and the clown fish that
lives among them. The fish gets protection from predators which
stay away from the stinging tentacles. The anemone does not appear
to derive any benefit by hosting the clown fish.
(v) Mutualism: This interaction confers benefits on both the interacting
species. Lichens represent an intimate mutualistic relationship
between a fungus and photosynthesising algae or cyanobacteria.
Similarly, the mycorrhizae are associations between fungi and the
roots of higher plants. The fungi help the plant in the absorption of
essential nutrients from the soil while the plant in turn provides the
fungi with energy-yielding carbohydrates.
The most spectacular and evolutionarily fascinating examples
of mutualism are found in plant-animal relationships. Plants need
the help of animals for pollinating their flowers and dispersing their
seeds. Animals obviously have to be paid ‘fees’ for the services that
plants expect from them. Plants offer rewards or fees in the form of
pollen and nectar for pollinators and juicy and nutritious fruits for
seed dispersers. But the mutually beneficial system should also
be safeguarded against ‘cheaters’, for example, animals that try to
steal nectar without aiding in pollination. Now you can see why
plant-animal interactions often involve co-evolution of the
mutualists, that is, the evolutions of the flower and its pollinator
species are tightly linked with one another. In many species of fig
trees, there is a tight one-to-one relationship with the pollinator
species of wasp (Figure 13.6). It means that a given fig species can
be pollinated only by its ‘partner’ wasp species and no other species.
The female wasp uses the fruit not only as an oviposition (egg-laying)
site but uses the developing seeds within the fruit for nourishing
its larvae. The wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while searching
for suitable egg-laying sites. {Part of mutualism is in next slide}
 In return for the favour of
pollination the fig offers the wasp some of its developing
seeds, as food for the developing wasp larvae.
Orchids show a bewildering diversity of floral
patterns many of which have evolved to attract the right
pollinator insect (bees and bumblebees) and ensure
guaranteed pollination by it . Not all
orchids offer rewards. The Mediterranean orchid Ophrys
employs ‘sexual deceit’ to get pollination done by a
species of bee. One petal of its flower bears an uncanny
resemblance to the female of the bee in size, colour and
markings. The male bee is attracted to what it perceives
as a female, ‘pseudocopulates’ with the flower, and
during that process is dusted with pollen from the
flower. When this same bee ‘pseudocopulates’ with
another flower, it transfers pollen to it and thus,
pollinates the flower. Here you can see how co-evolution
operates. If the female bee’s colour patterns change even
slightly for any reason during evolution, pollination success will be reduced
unless the orchid flower co-evolves to maintain the resemblance of its
petal to the female bee.
 Case Study of Remedy for Plastic Waste
A plastic sack manufacturer in Bangalore has managed to find the
ideal solution to the ever-increasing problem of accumulating plastic
waste. Ahmed Khan, aged 57 years old, has been producing plastic
sacks for 20 years. About 8 years ago, he realised that plastic waste
was a real problem. Polyblend, a fine powder of recycled modified plastic,
was developed then by his company. This mixture is mixed with the
bitumen that is used to lay roads. In collaboration with R.V.College of
Engineering and the Bangalore City Corporation, Ahmed Khan proved
that blends of Polyblend and bitumen, when used to lay roads, enhanced
the bitumen’s water repellant properties, and helped to increase road
life by a factor of three. The raw material for creating Polyblend is any
plastic film waste. So, against the price of Rs. 0.40 per kg that rag
pickers had been getting for plastic waste, Khan now offers Rs.6. Using
Khan’s technique, by the year 2002, more than 40 kms of road in
Bangalore has already been laid. At this rate, Khan will soon be running
short of plastic waste in Bangalore, to produce Polyblend. Thanks to
innovations like Polyblend, we might still avoid being smothered by
plastic waste.
Case Study of Organic Farming
Integrated organic farming is a cyclical, zero-waste procedure, where
waste
products from one process are cycled in as nutrients for other processes.
This allows the maximum utilisation of resource and increases the
efficiency of production. Ramesh Chandra Dagar, a farmer in Sonipat,
Haryana, is doing just this. He includes bee-keeping, dairy management,
water harvesting, composting and agriculture in a chain of processes,
which support each other and allow an extremely economical and
sustainable venture. There is no need to use chemical fertilisers for
crops,
as cattle excreta (dung) are used as manure. Crop waste is used to create
compost, which can be used as a natural fertiliser or can be used to
generate natural gas for satisfying the energy needs of the farm.
Enthusiastic about spreading information and help on the practice of
integrated organic farming, Dagar has created the Haryana Kisan Welfare
Club, with a current membership of 5000 farmers.
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